Oh snap – who can name the movie that’s from?! I’ll give you a cookie! Well, probably not a cookie actually, what with the internet not being the best provider of pastries. But a nice shout-out for being awesome – that I can do!

Anywho, happy Wednesday to all. It’s the first What I Ate Wednesday of Spring!! Huzzah!!

We got a taste of some spring weather over the weekend and it was faaaaaaaaaaaaabulous!!! Of course, it’s about 25 degrees outside today and we got some more snow, but the weekend was perfect. *sigh* I really hope it warms up soon.

At least next weekend I’ll be in South Carolina!! I can’t wait for the mini vaca!! We’re staying with Johnny’s Grandparents and I can’t wait to see them!! Though, I’m a bit terrified at the thought of how many times I’m going to need to stop to pee on the way. Today, I peed 5 times in less than 3 hours after I woke up. Sure, that may be TMI for a blog post that’s going to talk about everything I ate on Wednesday Monday but I decided to share it with you so I can’t take it back now. And you’ve got to admit…that’s ridiculous!!

Breakfast: So I tried changing things up a little bit on Monday and instead of my typical peanut butter covered banana oat cookie/muffin/squishy-delishness I just microwaved myself a bowl of “standard” style oatmeal. Ya know. The creamy kind. In the mix is 1/2 cup of oats, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, 1 tablespoon of flax meal, 3/4 of a mashed banana, 1 cup of almond milk, and some cinnamon. I microwaved it at work for 5 minutes, stirring it up every minute or so. I couldn’t not add chocolate chips to it. It was tasty. Not as good as my peanut butter covered banana oat/cookie/muffin/squishy thing. But good. I also had some decaf green tea with it.

Snacks: Boy was Monday a snacky day. It all started with some strawberries. Delicious, juicy strawberries that I can’t seem to stop eating! I cut these ones up and enjoyed them with a fork instead of making a huge mess all over my desk as usual….
About an hour later I was still hungry so I snagged an apple cinnamon rice cake that I smeared in almond butter (Warning: I know I say I have a new snack obsession every week. This one belongs to this week!)

Lunch: Recycled salad photo!! I said I need to start making this salad more the last time I had it. So I did. Like a boss. Except the one in THIS photo is muuuuuuuch prettier than mine was Monday…because I forgot to take a picture before I shook it all up and it turned to an egg yolky/avocadoy/mess of noms.

Snacks: I told you I snacked a bunch today man. Here is a recycled photo of an apple…because I knew I had one and I was like…gosh I’m hungry I don’t want to take a picture I want to eat. So I did!
Then I ate some pistachios…
…and then some decaf green tea…
…and then some edamame…
….and then some carrots.

Holy munchies, Batman!! I realized at this point in time (thanks to my fitness pal) that I hadn’t even consumed 1,000 calories yet in the day!! Thattttt’s why I was starving! With baby on board I try to consume between 1500-1600 on an inactive day and that’s been working really well for me. I don’t track my food every day – but since I was feeling sooooo hungry I decided to check in and see what my numbers for the day were looking like. Lots of fiber, not enough protein.

For me, personally, I find that a diet higher in protein and healthy fats with a wee bit less fiber works to keep my satisfied for way longer than a diet higher in fiber. I was all about fiber until I started running and lifting. Fiber One bars were my jam. I can’t even tell you the last time I had one, now, which is a good thing… because all they do is give me gas and make my belly hurt. It turns out, if you get enough fiber in your diet from natural sources like fruits and vegetables and whole grains your body is NOT happy when it gets extras from additives like chicory root fiber (which, beeteedubs to all my preggos out there, is not recognized as safe during pregnancy but is in LOADS of products. read your labels!) WHODA THUNK?! Boy, the human body is such a fascinating thing. *STEPS DOWN FROM SOAP BOX*

Dinner: By the time I got home I was soooooooo excited for dinner…for so many reasons!! I was starving…and I knew I was making CHEESE BURGERS!!! It had been a while and it was just on my list of things I realllllllly wanted. For my burgers I use 85% lean ground beef, oats, worcestershire sauce, and looooooads of garlic and black pepper. Topped with some american cheese, romaine, tomato, and onion on a toasty whole wheat bun. Oh goodness. It wassssss perfection (even cooked to well done #pregnancy). I also made some sweet potato “chips” on the side using my brand spankin’ new Simple Slicer from The Pampered Chef that came in my New Consultant Mini Kit!! Oh man, it’s soooooo easy to use (way easier than the Ultimate Mandolin – which it looks a lot like – but I’m telling you it’s a million times better!!), easy to clean (the blade locks into place so it’s nearly impossible to cut yourself or your sponge), and it made PERFECTLY sliced sweet potatoes. I love how it has three different thickness settings. I sliced my sweet potatoes on the second level and I thought they were just the right thickness!! I just tossed them in olive oil, threw em’ on a sheet pan with some salt and garlic powder, and baked them at 450 for about 30 minutes…flipping them after 15. I sprinkled mine with (probably too much but I don’t care) Cajun seasoning when they were hot from the oven. I need to make these more often. 😀Dessert: Obviously, a burger and sweet potato chips weren’t enough (jkallday) buuuut I still indulged in some Wegmans brand chocolate frozen yogurt after. I restrained myself, though, and did NOT add a giant spoonful of peanut butter to it. *pats self on back* Johnny went out for a bit on Monday night, so it was just me and the pooch nomming some froyo and watching The Big Bang Theory. I then proceeded to try on a bunch of my “springtime” clothes to see how they fit with my giant baby belly. I may need to go shopping. *sigh*

So what are your thoughts on a high fiber/high protein diet? Which works best for you and your body?

Do you have any mini vacations planned soon? What about regular sized vacations?

Are you familiar with The Pampered Chef? What’s your favorite product?!

Good morning, all!! I hope you’ve had a great week so far!! Happy First Day of Spring!!!

Does anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend??

We’re finally painting the nurseryyyyyyyyy!!!!!!! Eeeeeee!!!!!!!

Seriously, this pregnancy is going by so fast. Today I am officially in my third trimester!! WTF?! (I’ll be posting a bUmPdate tomorrow for anyone interested.) Little miss Emma is going to be here before I know it and I genuinely cannot put into words how excited I am to meet my little yogi! 😀 😀 😀

Today I’m pleased to share with you a super delicious muffin recipe I came up with this week that tastes just like the fall…right in time for spring!! Ha. Oh well. It was so rainy and chilly at the beginning of the week that I felt like the warm spices would do me some good…and I was right…because these muffins rock. They’re dense and chewy from the oats with a tiny bit of sweetness from the apples and brown sugar. You’ll notice that there is no butter or oil or added fat at all in these muffins either! That’s because flax seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids (which, as a momma-to-be, are essential to my diet!)! I promise these muffins are still perfectly moist without any additional fat. I guess, technically, these are more like little baked oatmeals than muffins but tomato-tomatoe. I’ve also included some alternative ingredients to keep these both gluten free and vegan if you so desire. Please note, though, that the nutrition facts I’ve included at the bottom are for the recipe as it is written below.

These muffins freeze really well, too! Just pop it in the microwave to thaw and heat through and you’ve got breakfast in no time!! I’ve been serving mine up this week with some cinnamon cream cheese wedges from the laughing cow. I’m obsessed. They’re 35 calories of delicious, cheesy, noms!!!

Also, you may be wondering why on earth I’d photograph my breakfast on a Pampered Chef catalog? Silly me. That’s because I’ve started my own Pampered Chef business!!! I was a consultant a few years back and I loooved it, but I had a hard time keeping in touch with my recruiter who was based out of Baltimore. Not convenient. I just kind of decided on a whim that now is as good of a time as any to start throwing parties for people and earning them free and discounted products…because come on now…who doesn’t love free stuff?! Especially free KITCHEN stuff. OOoooooo man I’m just too excited. I know that I’ve already picked out at least a dozen products that I can’t wait to earn for myself…and I’m looking forward to helping other folks do the same!! (My mother-in-law is dying for the executive cookware set!) If you’re in Central PA and you’d be interested in hosting a show – please feel free to contact me!!! If you’re not in Central PA and you’d like to host a catalog show – go ahead and contact me, too!!

Last, but certainly not least, don’t forget to grab a badge and link up with your favorite real food recipe, today!!

Hehehehe. Gosh I just love, Stitch! He’s my fave! He reminds me of my husband and my dog if they were combined into a single being…take that however you want it. Ha!

Anywho, I’m so happy it’s finally Wednesday!!! It’s been a pretty productive week for me so far, which is probably why this is my first post of the week!! Oops!! I had a loooovely weekend in New Jersey, a doctor’s appointment on Monday. (I took my glucose test and they took some of my blood and I DID NOT pass out. That’s two times in a row now where I’ve gotten my blood taken without passing out. I may very well be an adult just yet.), and had a pretty solid workout on Tuesday night. In fact, I’ll discuss that a bit more in a few because this week I’m sharing my TUESDAY eats!

Thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for the link up party!! Here’s to the last What I Ate Wednesday of Winter (because it’s officially Spring tomorrow no matter what the weather man says)!!! HUZZAH!!!

Breakfast: Breakfast for me yesterday was the same Berry Ginger Chia Smoothie I linked to a few weeks ago. It’s so effing delicious I didn’t care how cold it was outside. I enjoyed it with a big old mug of decaf green tea!

Snack: My first snack of the day was an Apple Walnut Flax Muffin (recipe tomorrow!!) and I had it around ten. It’s soooo perfectly moist and nutty and cinnamony! I was hungry again around 11, so I nommed on an apple, served on my belly which seems to be getting bigger every day! I will be 28 weeks pregnant tomorrow and that is so crazy!!! I’ve even started to notice my belly wiggling around like jello when the little munchkin in there does her kung-fu! It makes me giggle. Every single time. Even if it’s inappropriate. Like in a meeting at work. Oops! If I don’t make eye contact hopefully no one will notice my giant goofy smile!

Lunch: For lunch yesterday I heated 3oz of shredded chicken in the microwave until it was nice and warm and then I mixed it up with about 1/3 of an avocado and a squeeze of lime juice. I smushed it all in a toasted whole wheat pita with some thin sliced red onion and crisp romaine lettuce. I’m usually all about spinach, but I really wanted the texture of the lettuce in this! Ya gotta change things up a little here and there, right? Right!

Snack: So thanks in large part to some fabulous strawberries I had over the weekend (that Susan so kindly provided me) – they are all I want to eat lately. I pretty much invented the best snack ever yesterday with some strawberries I had. I spread them with a cinnamon cream cheese laughing cow cheese wedge, and then rolled them in crushed pistachios. Sweet. Creamy. Salty. Perfect. Seriously. It’s going to be an issue if and when I run out of these ingredients.

More Snacks: Well my tummy started rumbling agaiiiin around 4, so I had some roasted garlic hummus with about 8 baby carrots and 3 triscuits. I brought more with me, but after munching on all of that I decided that my belly was happy and I tucked the rest away for another day.

Dinner: I had a pretty decent workout last night, focusing primarily on my biceps and back…but I threw in some random chest presses. Oh well. I also did a 20 minute walking interval on the treadmill. Sigh. I am really looking forward to being able to run again this summer! I wanted to make sure I got my protein on when I got home, but also didn’t feel like making a big elaborate dinner. Lately, when I’m doing my meal planning, I always have an “empty” weeknight slot where I just make eggs and toast. Last night was that night. Johnny gets 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg whites, 2 slices of american cheese, and 2 slices of whole wheat toast with some smart balance with omerga 3s. I made myself an omlette with 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites whipped up with some skim milk with red onion, portobello mushroom, spinach, and 2% mozzarella cheese. I had it with 2 slices of smart balancy toast, too. It was exactly what I needed!!

Dessert: Of course my life isn’t complete without dessert these days!I’m really hoping to break this habit once baby is born and I’m less hungry all the time. Of all the desserts I could have though, I don’t feel bad about this one…particularly because sometimes I eat it for breakfast!! It’s just 1/2 cup of plain nonfat greek yogurt with 1 (okay 1 HEAPING) tablespoon of peanut butter with some chocolate chips on top!! I love everything about it!! And obviously I’m feeding my muscles with more protein…and my baby with chocolate chips. Nom!!

So dudes..what’s the BEST thing you ate this week so far? I’m still reveling in my snack invention glory.
What’s your favorite omelet filling?